Candidate Shelley Hasselbrink was surprisingly calm Wednesday as she won a seat on the City Council far earlier than she had expected and without having to fight for a single vote. With only three candidates – Hasselbrink and two incumbents – having applied for three open Los Alamitos council seats, it was up to the council to decide Wednesday whether to hold an election Nov. 4 or simply appoint the trio…She and Councilmen Troy Edgar and Warren Kusumoto were saved about 2 1/2 months of an election season when the council voted unanimously to appoint the three candidates.

Current Mayor Gerri Graham-Mejia, on the Council since 2006, will not run for re-election.

Breaking news – Los Alamitos Councilman Troy Edgar has lost his appeal to be added to the June Open Primary ballot as a candidate for the office of Orange County Clerk-Recorder.

A judge ruled today that OC Voter Registrar Neal Kelley was correct when he tossed out Edgar’s nomination signatures after his consultant, Brett Barbre, and an unnamed female staffer were seen collecting signatures within the Registrar’s office after the 5 pm deadline. Their actions were captured on security video. Continue reading→

Remember when Troy Edgar’s pal Brett Barbre got caught collecting nomination signatures for the OC Clerk-Recorder’s race after the 5 pm deadline, while at the OC Voter Registrar’s office? They caught all this on video but it looks like this less than dynamic duo is not letting it go just het.

“Barbre called Kelley’s decision a “ticky tack” ruling, and said he’ll challenge it in court. Another last-minute effort? Barbre said Friday that the suit would be filed Monday – the final day to do so, according to Kelley, as reported by the OC Register. Continue reading→

Picture of Troy Edgar and Brett Barbre courtesy of Vern Nelson, of the Orange Juice Blog

Everyone in Orange County’s political circles is having a hearty laugh at the expense of Los Alamitos Councilman Troy Edgar and his trusted sidekick Brett Barbre, who showed up at the offices of the Orange County Registrar of Voters last Friday and kept on collecting nomination signatures, for the OC Clerk-Recorder election, after 5 pm.

Of course you are not allowed to collect nomination signatures after the doors of the Registrar of Voters are closed at the 5 pm deadline. But that is what Barbre did and he got caught on video doing it. So Neal Kelley, the Registrar of Voters, invalidated Edgar’s nomination paperwork. Continue reading→

UPDATE: We are hearing that Troy Edgar may file an appeal on Monday to reverse the OC Registrar of Voter’s decision to not count his nomination signatures as valid after Edgar got caught collecting signatures in the Registrar’s office after the 5 pm deadline. Reportedly up to five witnesses are ready to testify that Edgar’s pal Brett Barbre was the one collecting the signatures after the deadline. We hope Edgar won’t waste taxpayer resources on such a silly appeal.

We didn’t hang around for the vote last night as it was evident how it would go, so here’s confirmation from the Fountain Valley Patch that 18 OCSD Directors didn’t believe that 61% in fee increases since 2005 wasn’t enough. Seven Board members voted against the increase. John Crandall reports:

Despite opposition from a number of residents, Orange County Sanitation District Board of Directors approved a sewer rate hike for northwest and central Orange County to be phased in over the next several years. The board voted 18-7 to increase sewer service charges by 4.8 percent this year and 2.4 percent each of the next four years. On July 1, the annual fee for the average single family home will become $14 in 2013 and about $8 each of the next four years. The 2013 fee of $294 will be $339 by 2017-18.